Afternoon Drama: Lying Low

First broadcast: Fri 22nd Sep 2017, 14:15 on BBC Radio 4 FM

Stephen Wakelam’s play about Samuel Beckett's mysterious three-week stay in Folkestone in March 1961.

The playwright checks deliberately into a quiet hotel under a pseudonym and it's here that he befriends Janet who works part-time at the hotel while studying for her French A-level. They bond over an Agatha Christie novel. This burgeoning friendship tests Janet's loyalties, presenting her with a dilemma she needs to resolve.

Pianist ..... Pete Ringrose

Produced and directed by Gemma Jenkins

Samuel Beckett: Adrian Dunbar

Young Janet: Charlotte Beaumont

Janet: Susan Brown

Billy: Charlie Clements

Miss Adams: Clare Corbett

Suzanne: Caroline Loncq

Roy: Samuel James

Librarian: David Sturzaker

Timmy: Gary Duncan

Registrar: Philip Fox

This clever blend of fact and fantasy is inspired by the three weeks Samuel Beckett spent in Folkestone prior to his marrying his long-term partner, Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil. He checked into the Bristol Hotel on Folkestone Leas under the pseudonym, Mr S Barclay, instructing his close friends to keep absolutely quiet about his whereabouts.  

==============

On 25 March 1961, following a fortnight of dodging reporters, hiding from the public and generally ‘trying to be invisible’ in Folkestone, Nobel laureate, novelist and playwright Samuel Beckett was married to his long-time partner Suzanne Deschevaux-Dumesnil at a secret ceremony in the town’s Registry Office.

plus-circle Add Review

comment

Reviews